People Get Payback With Their Best Malicious Compliance Revenge
22. Eat Most Of Your Burger And Request Us To Replace It? We'll Replace Just What You Ate
“So here we go again at “Mendy’s” drive-thru. This one started in the drive-thru and then ended in our lobby. I got to witness my manager, we’ll call him “Bruce,” being petty as heck. Straight sassy.
A customer orders one of our smaller burger meals, including one of our smaller patties, to eventually eat in the lobby.
The junior bacon cheeseburger comes with a small, hot (2oz) patty, cold cheese, cold lettuce, hot bacon, cold tomato….cold mayo. See where I might be going with this? The repeat customer definitely didn’t. It’s crucial to eat this burger within a couple of minutes of receiving it to really enjoy the burger.
So anyway, we hand out the bag of goodies, then we see him ten minutes later walk into the lobby with the bag in his hand, open, losing all that crucial temperature. He sits down. What happens next is something I could only describe as, Ala Tom Segura, weird crap.
I mean for like the 1930s, it would be normal, but this dude whips out a newspaper from seemingly nowhere (like seriously, he was only holding a paper bag saying Mendy’s), flaps it open like he’s in the movies, finagles a Monacle out of his shirt pocket, actually USES it…and about ten minutes later, he takes a bite out of his now-room-temperature burger.
Yes, we all watched. Like, there were customers galore in the drive-thru, but this was a sight to see. I then returned to my duties. About a picosecond later (time flies), Steampunk Stew approaches the counter with the fervor of a kid asking us for a free toy with a more-than-half-eaten burger in tow.
“This meep waszh cold mam.” The dichotomy of his talking with a mouthful of food while being dressed to the nines paralleled how his burger was supposed to taste…Hot and cold. And he was talking to Bruce, so he meant man, just to add to the schleppiness of his overall vibe.
Bruce asked him, at the risk of getting further pummeled by chunks of drippy chunks of mouth meat, to repeat himself. He stood there chewing for an awkwardly long amount of time.
“The MEAT! It’s flunking COLD!”
Bruce begins to MendySplain that “the smaller burgers, even at their very hottest, rapidly react with the very cold lettuce, mayo, and tomato.
You ordered the burger an hour ago. If you don’t plan on eating it right away we can always–”
Stew interrupted to shout.
“I can’t eat this crap!”
Bruce, “Sir, you’re eating it right NOW!”
“Oh, you’re gonna replace what I ate.
I have my rights. I know how it IS.”
Bruce started to reply, “But you ATE…” then he had an MC epiphany. “Okay… we’ll replace what you ate.”
I was very excited to hear this, so best believe I turned to see what he was up to.
I was so excited, usually, it’s ME who commits some malicious compliance, and Bruce is the chill one. But not this time.
You see, Bruce is a true neat freak. We’re like the odd couple. And evidently being spit on made Bruce very malicious.
Bruce style. I couldn’t wait to see what he was about to do.
I first knew he was up to churlishness when he insisted on taking the heavily patchoulied man’s burger back. Oh, it was glorious. Never before had he looked so handsome, so…debonair as when he double gloved to take this man’s burger, put it on a wrapper, and assemble an identical burger which he cut perfectly to match the other 40 percent of the burger that Stew hasn’t eaten.
He nuked the old burger to kill any steampunk midichlorians left hanging around, reassembled his burger puzzle, and wrapped it like it was new.
He handed it to Stew and you better believe we all waited to see the aftermath.
Homeboy opened the burger right there, and with a look of disgust yelled, “Are you funking kidding me?” He threw the burger at the wall and ran out, swearing that he’ll “Yelp us until we close.” I’m so proud of Bruce, though I know he’s ashamed.”
21. Pester Me For Being "Too Casual" At Work? I Can Be More Formal
“For context, I have a few piercings, dyed hair, rainbow glasses, and a sticker-clad cane.
People are going to stare anyway, may as well give them something to stare at. I’m also pretty casual – I afford expected respect to people, but especially since I work in fast food and only have a few coworkers, I (and my other coworkers/managers) don’t see a reason to be excessively professional. I was hired with all of these visible and have never been told to remove them (both GM and regional manager know).
A new manager got hired, and she met me about a week ago. Within three days of meeting me, she started commenting on a lot of my behavior and appearance – to the point of demanding I fix my appearance immediately when I told her I didn’t see how my appearance affected my ability to do my job.
Now, I have no problem removing the piercings or dying my hair a more natural color. But my glasses are pretty necessary for my current situation – I can sort of see about 4 or 5 feet away with them, without them, I’m basically useless, and nothing can fix it at this point, so I’ve stopped bothering with an ophthalmologist. And I speak to my coworkers the way they speak to me – we’re all pretty casual and friendly.
Also, the only thing she noted that was MAYBE against policy is the piercings, but we’re technically allowed two stud piercings, and that’s what I have. Either way, whatever, I was fine taking them out.
But in a stroke of genius, I went, “Alright.” I took out my piercings and tucked my hair into my hat.
She decided to insist my glasses were just aesthetic (because of course REAL people who need glasses only wear plain black or metal frames), so I took them off. Got sent back to work.
At this point, everything is grey, so one of my coworkers led me back to my spot on the line.
She then got on me about my performance dropping and accused me of doing it to spite her. I told her I couldn’t see, and she started nagging me about how I needed to “treat (her) with respect, (she’s) not my friend” and once again commented on how casually I talk to people.
So I drew inspiration from one of my favorite video game characters and started speaking like Fischl. Not well, but enough that it was obvious what I was doing. “Alas, without my spectacles, ’tis but a blur!” I also ignored her or pretended not to understand if she used any “informal” terms toward me.
These shenanigans continued until another manager came in, saw me without my glasses, and got on the new manager (and told me to put everything back to normal – apparently, I look like a “legal issue waiting to happen” without my glasses and piercings).
I overheard things like, “I just don’t feel appreciated for the work I do here!” and “OP was being intentionally obstinate!” I also overheard the older manager tell her that I am, in fact, legally blind and had every right to pursue legal action for an ADA violation.
(I don’t know the laws well enough to know if it was, nor would I have had the finances to sue, but the idea someone would assume I could made me feel a bit satisfied.)
I ended up getting my ability to wear my piercings returned, too – endorsed by the GM and everything.
Not the thing I cared about, but a nice pro.
I’m pretty sure I’ve angered the new manager, though. Oh, well. I don’t talk to her, she doesn’t talk to me, and that’s fine. She’s been the subject of criticism by my coworkers, though, and I’m pretty sure if your entire store has 7 active employees, you’re not going to last long there when none of them like you.”
Another User Comments:
“You did have ADA protection, and you should really research those to protect yourself in the future. You’re not the judge, so you don’t get the final decision, but knowing when you’re being screwed is a great ability.
Next time you’re being screwed, contact a labor attorney.” AndyKaufmanMTMouse
20. Refuse To Pay $40 A Month For A Data Sharing Channel? It'll Cost You More In The Long Haul
“My work involves analyzing all kinds of data. This instance occurred around the time when our company was somewhat new (but still large enough to have 150 employees) and rapidly growing.
So far, our data analysis had been retail companies, travel agencies, and even the housing market. For the first time, we received a request to analyze health data from five hospitals in our area. The health data is very sensitive.
So the raw data itself and the analytical result could not be shared via email or Dropbox. For the first time, my team gets to see that sensitive companies go through channels that have a lot of security to share the data between us and the client.
These channels come at a price – but nothing too expensive which our organization couldn’t afford (something like $40 per month). Four out of the five hospitals have this data-sharing channel which meant that my team was able to receive the raw data and also be able to provide the analysis via the same channel.
The fifth hospital was new and they did not have this channel. Either our company or the fifth hospital needed to have this channel.
So I raise a request with the accounts team to purchase this channel and it is denied. My manager and I both raise it again and also discuss it with the accounts supervisor and it is approved verbally, but declined on the system once again after two weeks.
We try again for the third time after discussing with the higher accounts manager and still no approval at the end to buy this channel. It is declined and we have been told it is the hospital’s responsibility to share the data.
And if we reach the hospital they ask us to reach the health ministry, which then asks us to get in touch with the local member of Parliament, etc. (so just a lot of bureaucracy that I shouldn’t be managing).
While this entire request of data sharing is being worked on, the time for us to receive and analyze this data is running out. We are waiting only on a single hospital’s data which is ready to be sent to us (but only via an appropriate channel).
So, I’ve had enough. I find out from the Health Ministry email response (while working on getting the hospital to buy the data-sharing system) that the data can also be shared practically. Specifically, if I was to take a USB with me to get the data physically at the hospital and also return the output to the hospital the same way.
This practical data-sharing capability is deemed entirely safe. And that’s what I started to do.
Every Monday I drive 30mins to the hospital at 11 am, go to their admin team to retrieve the data in my USB, and then drive back to my work reaching at 1 pm.
Then I go have lunch at 1 pm. I repeat this same task again with our analytical output on Thursday. Our contract is to analyze the health data for the whole year. After doing this for three weeks, one of the upper management people, whose office is opposite my desk, starts to think that I have been taking a very long time for lunch (from 10 am to 2 pm).
He comes to my desk and asks if everything is okay and why I was away from my desk for 4hrs. I tell him the whole story. He is not happy at all. The cost of that data-sharing system is nothing compared to the cost of paying my salary while I physically collect the data every single time.
He puts the accounts team into their place by finding out that they approve of this system verbally each time and then deny it every time after a few weeks. And literally that day, we have this system all purchased, and then installed overnight.
Although, I do miss the bi-weekly travel while listening to music to only do a copy-paste of files into and out of a USB drive.”
19. Refuse To Listen To A Woman? Fine, Don't, But Lose Your Job
“I’m a woman in retail merchandising, which skews male in terms of employment statistics. Most guys I work with are okay, but since the company I started with literally took anyone who was signing on the day the recruiter visited the job center (that’s how they got me), and the agencies we use to bulk numbers are even less picky, some of the guys are…not ideal coworkers.
This story is about one of those.
On many of our jobs, there’s a “no smoking in the delivery yard” rule. Unless that’s where the smoking shelter is, you don’t smoke out there. One client does not allow smoke breaks between 11 pm and 6 am either, which irritates many of my coworkers due to the high level of addicts among them.
If you get caught slipping into the yard for a crafty one, you’re removed from the job, and possibly even the contract if you’re a frequent offender.
Cue this guy, we’ll call him Puff. He’s a smoker, with an attitude towards health and safety that had already seen him kicked off multiple contracts, for things like climbing racking, or throwing things that should not really be yeeted in the direction of other people.
On this occasion, I was the only woman on the team and the only non-smoker. As a non-smoker, I had more freedom of movement than the guys: I was the only one allowed to take carts out of the front door (you don’t realize how many shopping carts a store has until you’ve used almost all of them to empty three aisles of stock that are being moved around) and the only one allowed out unsupervised in the yard.
Now, no one liked Puff. He was rude and a nightmare to be around. And he was a jerk toward women. “I don’t listen to women,” he had been heard to say. And the team leader knew it. But he had to be caught misbehaving by the store manager before he could be removed from the site.
One of the things we needed to do, because the fitters couldn’t be bothered, was throw the old shelves and brackets in the skip. This thing was an industrial one, nearly twice my height, and the end was closed. You had to throw things into it.
Shelves are metal. And these ones were about 5ft wide and 25″ deep. I could lift them and maneuver them into place, but throwing them that high solo? Not a chance! The guys could manage it though.
I was always sent out with one of the guys and told to make sure they didn’t smoke, wink wink.
The team leader and most of the guys knew I’d turn a blind eye to a few quick drags in the shadow of the skip. But everyone was getting fed up with Puff and his attitude problem.
So the team leader sent me off with another pallet of mixed shelves and brackets (which were light enough for me to throw) and sent Puff trailing after me.
Puff was happy to do so, realizing it was an opportunity to smoke. Only instead of ducking behind the skip, where he’d be out of sight of both the cameras and the warehouse door, he leaned against it in full sight of both and sparked up.
“Y’know, you might want to go round the back so you’re not spotted.”
“I don’t listen to women,” was the predictable reply.
And he leaned there, slowly smoking, in plain sight. I saw movement in the warehouse, a silhouette by the rack of the store’s hi-vis yardwear.
I said nothing.
“What do you think you’re doing?! You’re not allowed to smoke out here! Why are you letting him smoke?”
“He doesn’t listen to women.”
The manager, needless to say, didn’t want Puff to even finish the shift. And with most clients having red carded him for various reasons, he was asked to find alternative employment.”
18. You Don't Need An Electrician For The Job? Okay, Your Call
“While in college I had a summer job in a place that fabricated steel tubing.
I was part of a 2 man team that packed the finished goods into boxes for shipment. To get them from our workstation to the loading dock, there was a heavy-duty hoist that rode on a monorail on the ceiling. To control it there was a plastic switch box hanging from a cable.
It was old and took a lot of abuse. About once a week the switch would stop working.
My co-worker was a guy named Dave who was studying Electrical Engineering. We got along pretty well and developed a system for when the hoist didn’t work.
I would walk across the shop to the electrical panel, flip the breaker that controlled the hoist and let out a loud whistle. He would open up the switch box, clean out all the crud, make sure the wires were connected, reassemble the box then whistle.
That was my signal to reset the breaker and get back to work.
One day we were very busy processing a big order from an important customer. Our foreman, Harry, who resented the college kids who worked there was running around yelling at everyone to work faster and get off our forking butts.
And of course he was right by me when the hoist stopped. I took off for the breaker panel, while Dave fetched the screwdriver.
Harry started screaming “WHERE THE FORK ARE YOU GOING? WE HAVE TO GET THE FORKING HOIST FIXED!” (ever notice that some people use “fork” and its derivatives as sort of a verbal punctuation?)
I told him I was going to flip the breaker while Dave fixed the switch. He told me we can’t afford to wait all forking day for me to walk across the forking shop and fork around with a forking breaker.
He turned to Dave and said, “JUST FIX THE FORKING SWITCH!”
Dave said he would do that as soon as the power was off. But as long as the power was on, he wasn’t going anywhere near it.
Harry started ranting about the forking college kids he had to deal with and forking jerks who think they know so much.
It was his job to show us how things work in the forking real world.
Dave and I just stood there pretty much ignoring him. We knew that there wasn’t much he could do and neither of us was going to risk injury for $2.63/hour.
When Harry finally realized that we weren’t going to fold, he told Dave to give him the screwdriver.
I asked him if he was sure he didn’t want me to cut the power.
“JUST GIVE ME THE FORKING SCREWDRIVER!!”
OK. You win.
He got the cover off without incident, then started poking around inside the box. He triumphantly showed us that the forking wire had come off the forking screw and you don’t need a forking degree in electrical engin–
ZAP!
The shock knocked him on his butt. The switch was fried and the tip of the screwdriver had a large divot.
The General Manager came running out of his office to see what the commotion was. By this time Harry had recovered but had a nasty burn on his hand.
GM had another guy drive him to the ER. He told Dave and me to just hang out until he got the switch fixed, this time by a real electrician. That took most of the day. GM asked us if we could do him a favor and work late to get this order out.
We agreed. A little OT is always welcome.
It didn’t take very long. It’s funny how much better things run when you have equipment that actually works, and no foreman screaming at you. As we were punching out GM thanked us and gave us each $50.
And for the rest of the summer, Harry didn’t fork with us.”
17. I Don't Have To Work Overtime? Okay, I Won't
“I am a mariner. My position on the ship is Mate. Below me are my deck hands who are responsible for the labor work like painting, grinding, maintenance, line handling, cargo ops, etc. Above me is the chief mate (second in command) and the Captain (in charge of everyone and the responsible individual for the entire ship).
We are officers and we do the planning for navigation, ship handling, training, payroll, etc. I work for a private company that pays me by a day rate which is a 12-hour work day. I work one month on and one month off.
Like most industries, we are undermanned, can’t hire enough to fill all positions. Now this ship I work on is even harder to crew up, mainly because of the captain. He’s got a notorious reputation for being a jerk. So people find all sorts of ways not to come to this boat.
And if they do, they only work one tour and never come back. I joined this ship back in May, and for the last 7 months, it’s been kinda crappy working for this Captain. He’s a narcissist, condescends everyone, insults everyone, works us like slaves, never thanks us, just an all-around class act.
You know these types of bosses. They never let up, they push you to the limit and just make you hate work and life.
With that said, I’ve been working 15 sometimes 18 hours a day because we’re short-handed. I’m doing all sorts of work that’s not in my job description.
I had to do cargo ops, handle mooring lines, maintenance, all in addition to my mate duties. I’m a very hard worker, a team player, and never say no to work.
The thing is we don’t get paid for any more than 12 hours of work a day.
So all those extra hours I worked are unpaid. It burns me and I freaking hate it but like I said I’m a team player, I want to make sure it’s safe for my guys, the operations get completed, and clients stay happy so I do what is asked of me.
I’m also the cook (we don’t have an official cook on board because this is considered a small crew and small ship), I was cooking lunch every day for my crew and many dinners too. Generally, you’re on your own for breakfast and dinner.
I was so good at my job that he and the chief mate passed their duties on to me so they can just sit back and relax. Chief mates and captains have a lot of paperwork to do but I was handling that for them too up until this point.
Well one day, I’m just completely burnt out with these 15-18 hour days. I get into a discussion about how the captain and company are stealing my wages because I’m working more than 12 hours a day. I asked him if I could show up to watch an hour later than my scheduled duty (the engine dept does this when they require their folks to work overtime the day before).
I work a swing shift that overlaps both the captain and chief mate so it’s not unheard of or uncommon to let guys show up late especially if they worked more than 12 hours the previous day. Well, once I asked to sleep in an extra hour, all heck broke loose with him insulting me, calling me names, being racist, “nobody wants to work anymore blah blah blah”, just nasty inappropriate behavior that shouldn’t happen but happens all the time in this industry.
He then finishes the verbal beat down with a cocky grin, “you know Mate, you never HAD to work overtime. You could have just said no.” I was steaming at this point but I just replied with, “OK Roger that.” I called it a day and went to bed. Cue malicious compliance.
The next day I’m already on watch and he comes on to work and asks me what’s for lunch. “Nothing, I’m not cooking today.” “Did you pull out anything from the freezer at least?” “Nope.” So nobody had any real food for lunch.
They all made sandwiches and ate chips instead.
Later that day, “hey I need you to go finish painting the rescue boat. The guys are busy with other projects and I want this done today.” “Well capt, since it’s not in my job description, I respectfully decline.” We get into a little arguing but he concedes.
The very next day he pulls the same thing “what’s for lunch,” “nothing,” “what do we have that we can cook real fast,” “I don’t know capt, I didn’t check, cooking isn’t my job remember, so I don’t plan on doing it.” He rushes to cook some whole chickens in an hour and they came out raw and really ticked off the crew.
Nobody touched his food. This routine lasted a whole week until it was the end of my tour and I got to go home.
I returned to duty a month later and he thought I would forget or let it slide.
I indeed did not forget or let it slide. For the next entire month-long tour the capt had to do the cooking because the chief mate and I refused to do it and he complained because he had to wake up early and prep food.
I was already doing all that when I was cooking. I just didn’t complain. I enjoy cooking. But I was willing to die on this hill, I wasn’t letting it go. I refused to let him win this battle. I did not cook one meal. To be petty, I made myself delicious food, did not share it, and refused any work that wasn’t in my job description.
What’s he gonna do? Write me up on disciplinary for not doing someone else’s job that isn’t mine or for not working past 12 hours? Not happening. Understand, at this point I was physically tired, burnt out, and mentally drained from doing everybody’s job and taking crap from him.
I asked for a transfer to another ship but got denied so I’m still stuck on this ship with this Captain but now he knows where I stand. And I haven’t cooked or done extra duties since. And that’s what you get for taking advantage of a good worker and always insulting me.”
16. Want Me To Follow The Old Rule Instead? Will Do, Boss
“As part of my job, I have to travel a few times a year (roughly 5-6 times a year) for periods ranging from 3 days to 2 weeks.
When that is the case, everything (plane ticket + hotel + food) is covered by my job under the following rule: I need to pay for everything out of pocket first, keep the receipts, then submit them to the admin/billing department who approves the expenses and gives me back the amount in my following paycheck.
However, about 6 months ago, everyone received an email from the higher-ups stating a change in rules: from now on, every food-related expense didn’t need to be justified anymore. We would instead receive a fixed amount per meal (which totaled to around $80-90 per day, very generous I would say) and would be allowed to pocket whatever isn’t used. The goal was to lighten the pressure on the billing department because they were spending too much of their time checking every single receipt for every travel, and time isn’t free, so by doing this, they were planning on reducing costs.
As soon as I read that I was ecstatic because I knew I was always spending much less than the allowed amount per day so that would mean that I was going to get free extra funds. However, my excitement was short-lived. Not even an hour after that first email, another email came from my direct supervisor that stated that “we will continue to follow the old rules, please disregard the previous email”.
After talking to some of my colleagues we realized that our supervisor thought the amount we were allowed under the new rule was too high, and he was trying to save money off us by making us stick to the old rule.
So you want to save some money and disregard the higher-up’s rules? Okay, let’s play. The first trip I went to after that email, I did the following :
- 8 am: light breakfast at the hotel, but then coffee at the shop across the street
- 10 am: I’m feeling a bit peckish; let’s get a banana from the supermarket and a small pastry from the bakery next door. And let’s not forget a bottle of water from this kiosk nearby
- 12pm: lunch at the restaurant, but I took the dessert in a tea room close by and my noon coffee at the Star of bucks
- 4 pm: time for a little snack, let’s get a chocolate bar at the grocery store and a boba tea in that little store there
- 7 pm: time for a pre-dinner drink at the local pub
- 8 pm: dinner at a restaurant
- 9 pm: let’s not forget the water bottle for the night
I did this for the whole week I was traveling, making sure that for each day I spent as close as possible to the amount I was allowed to spend. So when I came back, instead of submitting around 20 receipts (three a day), I submitted around 150.
And submitting the receipts was quite a long process as they were asking for a lot of information for every single one such as the amount in local currency, the conversion rate from my credit card, the corresponding amount in my currency, the address of the establishment, a short description of the purchase, etc. And I did this on company time of course, which took over 3 hours to complete.
Once I finished submitting all of these, I received a panicked email from the billing department asking me why I submitted so many receipts and didn’t follow the new rule. I forwarded them the email from my supervisor, saying that I was only following what I was told.
One of my friends in admin told me that the billing department actually went through all my receipts, which took them a huge amount of time. My supervisor got a stern talking to from the higher-ups, and from then on we were allowed to disregard all the food receipts.”
15. Advise I Cancel My Plan If I Get A Better Deal Elsewhere? Good Thing I'm Not In Contract With You!
“This happened a few years ago. Where I lived I had the choice of a DSL/Satellite package through my phone company, or a Cable Internet/TV package through my cable company. I chose the cable company and had been with them for several years.
But I wasn’t the happiest with them for several reasons. At the time this occurred, another company was running the fiber optic lines for their FiOS service in my neighborhood, and I knew that they planned to start offering the service within the next 2 months.
I also knew that their introductory pricing was VERY good.
So I called up my cable company looking for a better price. The initial CS rep sent me to a customer retention specialist. I talked to that guy for like 10 minutes and he actually did lower my cost by about $20 bucks a month.
I told him that he would have to do better than that because FiOS was coming and their initial prices were a lot lower. He said that I could accept the new pricing and that I would need to sign a contract they would mail to me, and send it back within 90 days, to keep the pricing, or I could keep my existing pricing and cancel if I got a better deal. He said that he doubted that FiOS would offer me a better deal. I said OK and agreed to the new pricing.
He said he would mail the contract. A few days later I got the contract in the mail, but I knew I had 90 days for them to get it, so I sat on it. When I get my bill, the discount is already applied though.
About 45 days later I get a visit at my door from FiOS. They are wondering if I want to sign up, and show me their pricing. It’s going to save me about 50 bucks a month. Much better than the 20 that cable is dropping my price to be.
So I sign up.
About 2 weeks later, they come and install it, and everything is working great, much better than Cable. So I pack up my cable equipment and bring it down to the local Cable company office. I let them know that I want to cancel my service, and here is all my equipment.
The CS rep says “Sir, I show here that you signed up for a new package, so you agreed to a minimum of a 1-year service agreement with us. So if you cancel now there will be a (some amount) cancellation fee.”
I replied, “Actually, I never signed the contract. As I have it right here” and I handed it to her (unsigned). “You guys gave me 90 days to sign it, and I found a better deal with FiOS, so since I never agreed to the new contract terms and signed it, I’m not legally under contract, and you can’t charge me.”
She went and got her manager and showed the unsigned contract, and he agreed, that they couldn’t penalize me because I never signed the contract.
So in the end, I did exactly what the customer retention guy told me, I got the 20 cheaper price for about 2 months until FiOS was installed, then got rid of my service because I never signed the contract they sent me.
And, he had dared me to see if FiOS could get me a better price, and I did, and they could.
The same customer retention guy ended up calling me like 2 weeks later and asking me what happened. I guess he got notified that I canceled my account.
I told him, “I did just what you told me to do and found a cheaper price with my new FiOS service! Thanks for the advice.” He wasn’t happy, but there was nothing he could do about it.”
14. He Needs To Be At The Warehouse When It Opens? Okay, He'll Show Up 8 AM Sharp
“I used to work in a warehouse and one day we got a new Floor Manager. He had this grand idea that he was going to make an already functional supply warehouse work even better. It is important to note that all of our deliveries were sent out on time, received on time, no workplace accidents other than the occasional stubbed toe or splinter from a wooden box.
This place ran about as smoothly and efficiently as possible but it wasn’t good enough for the New Manager. He made it a point to check on everyone, getting into things that weren’t his business and things he didn’t know about.
One of his biggest things was making sure that everyone was at work on time. We didn’t have a time clock, we just wrote down when we got in and when we left. The New Manager insisted that a punch card system would work much better for us, but the owners weren’t willing to invest in that.
So, New Manager would spend every morning watching everyone come through the front door. We had maybe fifty people who worked there, so he made sure to count who came in and when. Anyone who walked in the door past 8:05 am got written up.
That is when he met the Old Guy.
Old Guy had been with the company pretty much since it opened. He knew everything and everyone there. Great guy and everyone liked him. On the second or third day of New Manager watching everyone come in, he sees Old Guy walking in the front doors at 8:15.
New Manager rips into Old Guy telling him that he was late, that it was unacceptable, and that he was getting written up. He is yelling in the middle of the warehouse where everyone can see and hear him. Old Guy tries to explain but gets told to shut up.
New Manager tops this all off with an order. “This warehouse opens at eight am sharp every day, five days a week. And I expect you at that door at eight am to begin your shift. You will be here when the warehouse opens!
Is that understood?” Old Guy just kinda smiles, takes the paperwork, and apologies stating that he would be in tomorrow at eight am just as he was told.
The smug look on the New Manager’s face was picture-perfect. He was certain that he had just fixed the biggest flaw in the company.
The next day at eight am sharp, Old Guy walked through the door and simply made sure that he was seen. Then he went off into the warehouse.
That day was a nightmare. Orders were backed up. Trucks were waiting on paperwork.
New Manager is almost in tears because of the chaos. The Owner comes in and starts trying to make sense of the situation with New Manager, and they track the paperwork issue back to Old Guy. New Manager is upset, but Owner is concerned and asked Old Guy if everything is okay.
Old Guy just tries to hide his embarrassment saying that New Manager wrote him up the day before and he was told that he had to come in at eight am. Not at four am like he always did to get all the orders and paperwork ready for the day.
The day before when he walked in the door, he had been coming in from a break.
New Manager tried to back peddle, saying he didn’t know, that it was Old Guy’s fault. The owner knew better. After that, the New Manager wasn’t working at the warehouse anymore, or for the company.
He went off to become a New Manager for someplace else. Thankfully, Old Guy knew what was going to happen and had most of the paperwork done for the day already so we weren’t too behind when the smoke cleared.”
13. Think Cardboard And Tape Will Keep Us Safe During A Hurricane? Whatever You Say
Reminds me of the Three Little Pigs.
“A bit of background info: I used to live in Florida and I’ve experienced almost every hurricane that ever passed through there. This story takes place in south Florida in an apartment complex, our apartment has a glass screen sliding back door that leads to a small balcony behind the building on the first floor.
This was more than 5 years ago. As the eldest in a single-mother family, I am the defacto head of the household (my father was not in the picture).
I don’t remember the name of the hurricane we were waiting for but there we were, my mother, my sister, and myself in the living room thinking about how we would protect the glass screen door from the Hurricane force winds coming soon.
I forget if it was my mother’s or my sister’s genius idea, but the idea was to cover the outside of the window with cardboard boxes and tape. Not even duct-tape, transparent tape (it was all we had). I sort of look at them with a confused look and ask, “How is the cardboard gonna protect the window (glass sliding door) from the Hurricane?
Are we using anti-hurricane tape?”
My mother and sister get mad and give some illogical reasons as to why it would work. I shake my head, still confused, and explain that this isn’t gonna do diddly-squat. I trust I don’t need to explain to anyone why this wouldn’t work lol.
My sister gets really mad and says “Instead of criticizing our ideas why don’t you just help!” My mother, on her side, yells to me also, “Help your sister, this will work!”
Cue Malicious compliance. In this day and age, the wise ones know…there’s no arguing with idiots.
Not to call my family members idiots, I LOVE THEM, but I mean, really? Cardboard and tape? Sometimes, you gotta let people make mistakes so that they can learn from them. So, I complied.
“What do you need?” I say annoyed but compliantly.
“Help us hold this cardboard up to the window.” I comply. Together, we put a ton of flattened cardboard boxes on the window, held together by a ton of tape. The entire time, I was a robot, complying with the commands given me, inside knowing that as soon as the winds would come, well, you know.
Even as we’re putting up the cardboard and tape, all I hear is, “you’re not the only smart one,” “everyone’s ideas are valid,” “my idea is good too, it’ll WORK.” When we finished, we all went inside to wait for the coming storm.
As the storm came and gradually increased in strength, we waited in the living room to see what would happen. I might need to add a disclaimer that we are all Floridians and Latinos. We are totally comfortable with hurricanes.
When they come, we don’t hide in the bathtub; we throw parties. We’re all ready to meet our maker, so I hope I don’t need to explain the culture behind why Floridians do this or offend anyone who may not understand why we’re not huddled together holding hands waiting for the end.
Also, I’m pretty sure it was a low-category hurricane (the ones we typically party in, if it’s a cat 4 or 5, then yeah, we’d be praying for mercy, lol).
Anyway, as the winds pick up, lo and behold, whaddaya think happens?
The softest gust of wind (or maybe the accumulated water everywhere) turns the cardboard and tape to mush. It slides off and plops down into a pile of trash just outside the window. With the most deadpan look, I slowly turn my head to look at my mother and sister.
The look of embarrassment on their faces was priceless. The silence was deafening. I didn’t even have to say anything. All I did, was look back at the window and sigh. We didn’t even bring it up anymore.
Well, as expected, the hurricane came and went (completely forgot the name of the one that happened during this story) as always.
Flooding, downed trees, trash everywhere – typical Hurricane damage. The story essentially ends there. I think from this point onwards, I always bring up this story when my family doesn’t listen to me. I remind them who’s the genius and then they do listen.
And you know what?…their lives are the better for it now.”
12. You Really Want The Job? You Can Have It
“Years ago, my wife and I had a 13-year-old car with about 250,000 miles on the clock. It was mechanically sound and drove like a dream but getting it through the annual (UK) emissions test was getting increasingly difficult.
Usually, it was just a case of running some injector cleaner through the engine and giving her a really good run before the test so that the engine was fully up to temperature, etc., but one year, the inspector attempted the test 3 times, and failed her on high HC (i.e., unburnt fuel in the exhaust).
I had a good look and found a crack in the exhaust manifold which was sucking in air, so engine management was compensating by injecting extra fuel, and, as a result, the catalytic converter was fried.
Being that the car was sound in every other respect, and I had no desire to replace it, I got my socket set out and started dismantling the exhaust system – all good until I found 3 of the exhaust header nuts were seized and no amount of heat, lubricant, and gentle persuasion was going to move them.
I’ve been there before and last time I spent 2 days carefully drilling out the studs; so my wife took the car into a local garage to get them to take a look and quote us for the work.
The mechanic (a cocky wee crap who evidently thought he knew everything) checked it over and gave my wife a quote for a new cat, lambda sensor, manifold, and labor, but he failed to consider the possibility of seized header nuts, and we certainly weren’t going to tell him.
The quote had some ‘added extras’ that my wife hadn’t asked for and came with an arrogant and condescending attitude (no doubt because a woman couldn’t possibly understand how a car works): ‘I know it’s a lot, love – but that car needs a lot done to it’ (like heck it did) – my darling beloved played the submissive wife part to perfection: ‘Oh, I’m not sure.
I’ll have to ask my husband, etc., etc.’ so the mechanic knocked a few quid off to sweeten the deal.
After work that night, we looked over the quote and noticed all the unnecessary extra work on it, but we figured that with the time it would take me to sort out those seized nuts it was worth it – if he wanted the job for that price, he could have it.
So the next day, my wife takes the car back, confirms that the quote is a fixed price for the job, and tells them to get on with it – “it’ll be ready this evening love” the mechanic says, apparently happy with his deal. That afternoon we get a call: “Errrr… We had some problems; it’ll be a couple of extra days.”
A few days later, my wife goes back to pick up the car – the manager deals with it and informs my wife that there is an extra charge for the additional work required. My wife calmly slides the quote across the desk, “Your mechanic gave me a fixed price for the job – here is the quote signed by him.” The manager is quite obviously seething, begrudgingly takes payment for the agreed amount, and hands over the keys together with a 12-month warranty for the parts that they used.
She heard the manager screaming at the mechanic as she left.
The next year, I presented the car for its annual test – it failed on the cheap catalytic convertor they had used. Back to the garage with the car and my wife asks them to replace the cat; “That’ll be $300, love” (or however much it was), “No, it won’t,” replied my wife, and slides the warranty (with 2 weeks left on it) across the desk.
They fixed it for free, but the manager told her in no uncertain terms never to darken his doorstep with that car ever again.”
11. Want To Know Where I'm At? I'll Let You Know Every Single Time
“I’m 24M. I live a nightlife, and I work two jobs. My day job usually consists of working in a restaurant from 5 pm to 11 pm. My second job consists of cleaning a cafe 7 days a week anytime between 10 pm and 6 am.
I usually tend to go clean around 5 am since I open the door for a delivery guy for croissants. If I’m not there he has to wait an hour for the place to open… Since I do him this favor, he tends to give me one for free.
They’re sooo good! Almond filled too.
Onto the main story.
My phone since Feb 8th has been messed up. Ever since I switched carriers, I can only get calls from people on the new service I joined. Text still works though.
I can call out though; that works. To be honest, this made my life more peaceful since I am not bothered as much and I enjoy every minute of it!
I live with my parents. My parents worry about me and where I am when I am out.
I tend to usually not let them know but then tell them where I am during the day when I get home. From a parental perspective, you’d want to know where your child is since you worry, but come on, I’m 24.
It can get annoying at times from my end since I’m constantly being bothered by texts ‘’where are you, why aren’t you home’’ from my dad since he can reach me by text but not call. It’s very hard for me to get some alone time and whenever I have the chance I tend to take it!
Some people just don’t understand that.
So, yesterday I came back home a bit later than normal, and my dad and mom gave me a speech and a half lecturing me on why I should tell them where I am.
I simply just told him ‘’the past couple of months, I go clean at the exact same time, 7 days a week around 5 am. What’s so different today? Do you pay attention to what goes on around you, or has it taken you months?’’ The look on my parents’ faces wasn’t a happy one, let’s say, but they just argued saying to let them know where I am.
Fine. You want to know where I am? So be it!
From today, before I left the house, while they’re sleeping, 4:45 am, I barge into their room ‘’I’m going to clean!’’ I said loudly, waking them up. Interrupting their precious sleep.
Drive 20 minutes, get to the location. I call the house ‘’I’m there safe!’’
Finish cleaning 30 minutes later, call the house, “I’m done! I’m going to eat!”
Drive 15 minutes, call the house, ‘’I have arrived, I’m eating!
At a restaurant!’’
Anyways, I just finished eating, while I am writing this story for you guys. I’m about to call them and tell them I’m heading home. Might as well ask them if they slept well last night.
After all, it’s going to be 7 days a week, 365 days a year!
I might be a jerk for doing this, but hey, it’s what you want, so it’s what you’re going to get!
I came home a few hours later, barged into their room around 8 am, “I’m home!’’ I said loudly.
They were both out cold! Think I woke them up a bit too much, 6 times in 2 hours? 3 were house calls, 1 phone call via cell, and two barges into their room.
The next day (a few hours later after my parents woke up), my dad comes up to me.
Dad: “You be very careful young man, interrupting my sleep!’’
Me: “You said you wanted to know where I am, so I let you know! What’s wrong, isn’t that what you wanted?”
Dad: “I can play dirty too.
Unless you want to be woken up with a bucket of water. Your choice.”
Let’s just say they hopefully got the message!”
10. I Don't Have To Wear My Company Uniform Today? Sounds Good To Me!
“I work at an electrical manufacturing plant and we have to wear these windbreaker-type jackets for what I thought was PPE, but it turns out, it’s just a uniform.
Today I was running late and left my jacket at home. No big deal I thought, they have extras I can use. I get to work to find out they are locked in HR’s office. I see multiple people not wearing their jackets and are wearing sports attire instead.
So I said screw it and just went to my workstation. My department wears lab coats so we only really have to wear our jackets going to and from break. Well on my way to break sure enough this jerk lady supervisor confronts me about my lack of jacket while simultaneously not wearing one herself.
I’ve never seen her wear a jacket. Here’s how the conversation went:
Jerk Lady: HEY! You have to wear your jacket while in the plant.
Me: I accidentally left it at home this morning.
Jerk Lady: Doesn’t matter you need to have one on.
Go to HR to get one.
Me: I tried this morning and their door was locked. Plus I don’t see you wearing one. So why should I?
Jerk Lady: I just got here and you’ve been here all day so you shouldn’t have an excuse.
I just walk away because I didn’t want to waste my break arguing with this lunatic. When I got back from break I grabbed my water bottle from my locker and filled it from the drinking fountain nearby which I do every day.
Jerk Lady’s desk just happens to be right next to my locker. Side note – since we make electrical components, we are not allowed to have any water on the floor unless it’s in our locker which I abide by this.
So I fill my water and sip it as I’m walking back to my locker. Jerk Lady sees this.
Jerk Lady: HEY you can’t do that either!
Me: What? I’m not allowed to drink water?
Jerk Lady: Yes no water on the plant floor.
Period.
Me: You can’t control my freaking body and my supervisor says we’re allowed to have it in our locker.
She didn’t like my attitude so she paged my supervisor and told him about the 2 altercations we had. A bit later my supervisor pulls me aside and tells me about how I should respect someone’s wishes and that company policy is to wear our jackets at all times.
I asked him why I saw at least 10 people today not wearing their jackets including Jerk Lady. Apparently, the president of the company sent out an email saying that today only, employees can wear clothing that represents a sports team.
I work weekends so this memo never made it to me.
So I thought to myself what’s just stopping me from writing a sports team on my shirt and claiming it to be my favorite team so that’s exactly what I did.
I printed out a blank label and wrote local NFL team on it and placed it on my chest. It’s now lunchtime. I walk out and Jerk Lady is sitting at her desk wearing a jacket. I’m guessing my supervisor said something to her about her not wearing a jacket.
The look on her face when she notices my shirt was the happiest I’d ever felt. It was a sight to see. I can tell she was outraged but she had nothing to say.”
9. Keep Scheduling Me With Terrible Workers? Don't Get Mad At Me When Nothing Hardly Gets Done
“Back when I was in college I would come home over summer and winter breaks and work at a certain pretzel stand. I’d been there for a few years, casually knew the owners but we weren’t on a first-name basis, worked with their son when he’d pick up shifts (great kid – one of the few insanely wealthy people who never acted entitled and worked hard when he came to a shift) and I knew the GM really well from the past few years working there.
The GM of our two stores in one mall location had to take a month off for an injury leaving two very very dumb managers in charge. One refused to work anything but an opening to 3 shifts 5 days a week and the other would reluctantly do short closing shifts.
Neither was competent at writing a schedule and both just wanted to look good while doing zero extra work.
To top it off we had a slew of newbies including…change girl. Don’t get me wrong, I get it, math is hard.
That’s why the register tells you the change to give to someone…but it doesn’t tell you which bills or coins to give.
GM texted me and begged me to work the second location as a sort of assistant manager and to come to do some PM shifts to close up and do drawers.
I agreed because he was fielding constant complaints from the two full grown in their 40s adults whining about their schedules. However, I was blissfully unaware of just how incompetent everyone was.
Short am shift manager hired change girl with no interview.
Another manager literally didn’t bother learning names with his -everyone do everything so I don’t have to- attitude.
I started doing drawers and one was always off. Short, over, math on the daily report not making sense. I pointed it out to both managers who ignored it.
Then my shifts at our second in-mall location kicked in and change girl became my second person in the AM whose job it was to come in an hour before opening (one hour after me) and run down to the main location to get restocking stuff and the change drawer while I made all the dough, and prepped for the day.
She was never on time. She couldn’t follow a list and brought the wrong stuff constantly despite a very good cook working downstairs who would have happily helped. But nope, she’s texting again.
It started to become me sprinting around making everything, removing trays from the oven, dipping pretzels in butter, rotating everything, packing up orders I was taking while she stared into space or confused drink cup sizes…again.
I couldn’t take a break or clean up because she literally couldn’t comprehend an order and getting her to start cleaning ANYTHING was a Herculean task of arguing over why she wasn’t supposed to have fake nails and how that wasn’t a reason she couldn’t mop a floor or wipe off a counter.
It peaked when she walked away from an OPEN register drawer to ask me how to make 37 cents…apparently my “quarter dime two pennies” wasn’t adequate because she brought handfuls of coins over and asked me which one was the dime…
She only had her dad’s credit card. She’s never used change… She panicked and made me drop everything once because she hit $5 and the person gave her $10…
I begged the am manager to send help and she refused, instead scheduling a third worker for herself.
It culminated with being scheduled to pull a 15-hour day with only change girl working for half the day. Idiotic managers sent out a message with a huge list of new cleaning and stocking expectations plus a “no empty store” rule.
Aka I was not going to be able to go to the bathroom, have a break or even get anything extra done and that was all going to be my fault. I was over it. I texted my recovering GM to please look at the schedule and my reports on the disasters and begged for help.
He told me to fully comply and to just wait. So I maliciously and through sheer pettiness comply and it’s a nightmare.
Lo and behold change girl shows up, finally does a run down to get restocking and by then we are open…with no drawer.
I’m trying to serve customers and it’s a mess. Suddenly the son of the owner shows up. Asks what’s up and I explain. He offers to go get the drawer for me and does, bringing it back to me BEFORE CHANGE GIRL GETS BACK.
He watches as she finally returns another 15 minutes later and brings all the wrong stuff again, doesn’t unload, asks how to make change, and won’t get off her phone.
He leaves and then change girl’s shift is over and she’s gone.
I’m solo while downstairs has 4 workers. The rest of the day is crap, and nothing gets done. AM manager comes back to the mall for personal shopping (after her very short 4 hr shift earlier) and proceeds to yell at me for the disaster.
Just as the owners show up.
She’s pulled away for a little chat about her scheduling habits and I talk to the other owner about the entire day’s mishaps. Turns out GM texted them a heads-up and to go in today and see the camera footage.
I finally get to go home after two workers from downstairs are sent to help.
The next morning, I woke up to the most glorious phone call. AM manager will now ONLY be working with the change girl and any discrepancy in the drawer being that manager’s fault.
(AM manager has zero idea how to do literally anything except dip pretzels in butter and bag up orders – she doesn’t know how to make the pretzels…neither does change girl).
Both managers now have to do all the silly requirements they demanded the other workers do and schedules were being taken over permanently by GM on paid leave.
I never got a crap schedule again.
Change girl got let go in two days. The AM manager was fired a week after the owners started monitoring her every day. The other manager kinda got their act together when our location was sent a temp from another store and I got a raise as soon as our GM came back.”
8. Make Us Label Every Item? Oh, I Will
Oh, the joys of working at a restaurant.
“This malicious compliance is both very lighthearted and somewhat silly. It took place several years back when I worked in a corporation-owned restaurant. While it was not my malicious compliance, I was the trigger for it and the only one there to see the results.
First, a little bit of necessary background in case you have not worked in food service or for a large corporation. For restaurants, food quality, safe handling of products/tools/chemicals, cleanliness, and labels are all very important if you don’t want people to get sick or injured especially in an environment that is always somehow too small, very hot, very loud, slippery, and full of medieval era siege repellent such as hot oil, fire, boiling water, and 9-inch blades.
Labels are especially important because the person using the item isn’t always the same as the one who portioned it out for service, and if not properly labelled, you would have no way to ensure it was fresh enough to serve safely.
Corporate kitchens take this even further and employ 3rd party auditors for health and safety to ensure everyone is following the standards across all their chains. This is not a bad thing although sometimes their standards clash badly with reality.
For example, shelled hard-boiled eggs in a brine once opened have a best-before date that lasts for a year. The auditors however decided that once the pail was opened they were only good for a single week. There was also no leeway on labelling, even if the product packaging contained all of the information you would put on a label it still required a label.
This wasn’t unreasonable because a standardized label is easier to read but for very high-usage items where you could go through several packages a day, it could become difficult to ensure this happened especially during rushes. One of these items is bacon bits, which brings us to our malicious compliance.
We had been audited and failed because 3 items were found in one of the fridges that were not properly labelled because, and I quote “the labels must clearly state the name of the product such that anyone can identify it, it must have the day it was opened/made, and the day it expires, and the Labeller must print their name.” Two of the labels did not have a labeller’s name, and one item did not have the name of the product.
The product without a name? Bacon bits.
I was put in charge of making sure we passed our next audit and I took it seriously, talking to the others, finding out where pain points in following procedure occurred and ensuring absolutely everyone got a refresher on the standards.
It mostly went well and everyone was getting into the groove but there was another container of bacon bits missing its name. There were only two of us working at the time so after the lunch rush I pulled the bacon bandit aside to have a heart-to-heart.
Me: Hey, bacon bandit I know we were just busy but you gotta put the name on bacon bits.
Bacon bandit: Really? They are used up before the end of the day, there is no way to confuse them with another product, they last for a month.
and we just don’t have time during 15 min or it’s free lunch if we want to get the food out on time.
Me: I understand the reasons why it happened, you’re not getting in trouble for this but the audits can shut us down, and even though it feels unnecessary, labels are protection for both the customers and the company.
Everybody has to be on board with this to make it work, and if we can’t even label bacon bits, the area manager is going to question why we have the highest-paid kitchen staff at our location. Can I count on you to make sure the bacon bits are labelled?
Bacon bandit: (big sigh) yeah I’ll do it but it’s still dumb and wastes a lot of time.
Me: Thank you, I appreciate it.
A few days later, it’s a particularly soggy day, and lo and behold, the auditor shows up for their surprise inspection right in the middle of the lunch rush.
I’m by myself on the line so am only half able to keep tabs on them while putting out orders. They seem happy with things so far and just as the lunch rush is ending they enter the main fridge where dwell the bacon bits.
The auditor is in there for a long time. Way more time than normal and when they come out of the fridge they are grinning ear to ear. “Well that’s weird,” I think. Then they get our general manager and take them back into the fridge and now I’m thinking “oh that can’t be a good sign.” When they come out they are both laughing and I am completely confused. They go into the office to discuss the results of the audit and I go into the fridge to try to see if I can figure out what’s going on.
I go in, everything is labelled, everything is FIFO’d (first in first out) and everything is stacked in food-safe order. Then I see it, the bacon bits sitting proudly on its shelf in a container clearly labelled for the world to see:
MOTHER FREAKING LITTLE PIG PIECES Yesterday’s date, expiry Bacon Bandit.
We passed the audit with 100% because little pig pieces and I quote “clearly stated the name of the product such that anyone can identify it.””
Another User Comments:
“I don’t think that label’s clear.
Isn’t it really little pieces of pig? It makes it sounds like the pigs were little and not the pieces. Audit fail.” procivseth
7. I Must File An Accident Report Over A Simple Stress Injury? Okie Dokie
“I work in manufacturing and have for more than a decade. Repetitive stress injuries are really common due to the repetitiveness of the work. Shoulders and wrists are the most commonly affected areas.
But risk can be reduced with economic tools which my company is refusing to buy.
I work with trigger action drills a lot. These are really bad for your wrists and shoulders. We’ve complained but more ergonomic tools are slower and we must not affect production.
There are areas in my work we don’t work in often (good area) – so we take turns in the bad area. One of my coworkers has been placed on restricted duty, so he gets to skip his turn.
A couple of weeks ago, my coworker was out due to an injury, so I was placed in the bad area for an extended amount of time – taking his turn and mine.
After a couple of days, my bad wrist started bothering me.
At previous employers, you’d complain to your direct supervisor, they’d send you to the nurse (on site), the nurse would restrict you to work that would not bother the injury, you’d rest and ice it in your off time and be back to full duty in a couple of days.
This is not what my current employer wanted to do. Instead, I reported it to my direct supervisor. I think he thought I was lying because no one wants to work in the bad area. He said, “If it hurts that bad, you’ll need to file an accident report.” I said, “But there is no accident to report; it’s just a strain injury.” He rebutted with, “We cannot make exceptions without documentation.” Aight.
We filled out an accident report – put me on light duty. Extra Light Duty – it was fine, boring, and I was not to use my dominant hand at all.
Saw the nurse the next day. The nurse basically tells me what I already know.
It’s a stress injury. There’s nothing to do about it but take a Tylenol and ice it. She has me stay on light duty until I get a doctor’s note to confirm her speculation.
Basically, I need a Doctor’s note to say I’m fine.
Because after a couple of days of light duty and not using it at all, the pain and swelling had gone away.
I felt like this all could have been avoided if my boss would have given me a little compassion and the benefit of the doubt.
I don’t complain usually – I kind of like the bad area (the pacing is good, the work is less tedious, but the physical strain gets to everyone). And now I have to pay for an urgent care visit – cool.
So I go to Urgent Care, and I wait 2 hours to see this poor RN who has been called in back to the clinic after a 14-hour shift (due to an abundance of patients and poor scheduling) so he can write me a note that says “OP has nothing wrong with them”.
I told him I thought it was stupid and a waste of his time and mine. He agreed. He wrote the note and when it was given to me it said “OP is fine to be on regular duty but cannot use trigger action drills more than 8 hours a week.”
Wait… what?
I can work a little more than one shift in the bad area. A week. From now on. The Visit Summary Paperwork included a small note from the RN – “If pain or swelling returns, reduction of this type of work may be needed. If you have any concerns, I can be reached at (phone number); my time is yours.”
Scheduling around my coworker’s injury and my doctor’s note has been… tricky. My boss complains about it, but he literally made me do it.”
6. I Must Follow The Attendance Policy? I Can Do That
“I suffer from chronic pain, currently investigating the possibility of endometriosis. My employer had been very helpful and kind with reasonable adjustments up until recently. I had been working part-time as walking is now so difficult that I use crutches and it’s impossible for me to complete my full 9 hours without a flare-up that will take me days to recover from.
I returned to work after surgery, and they blindsided me and told me I MUST go back to full time as it’s unfair on the rest of the workers, that they’ve bent over backward for me (which they have to do by law, and I really did not ask for much) and my health should be totally fine now that I’ve had surgery.
So, I followed protocol and received a sick note from the Dr that suggested part-time hours to prevent flare-ups and time off. They refused. I did one full shift and then could not turn up to work.
On UK sick notes if the section “may be fit for work” is ticked and the employer cannot fulfill those suggestions of adjustments you are automatically considered unfit for work and the sick note remains valid.
This is stated on the sick note itself and on the ACAS website (a site and helpline that discloses employee rights in the UK). I emailed about this and explained and asked if they would consider the sick note valid, they told me I would need a new sick note.
They just wanted a sick note that said I was outright unfit for work to cover their butts as they knew there was absolutely no reason to refuse part-time when I had already been doing it with no issues. I called in every day as protocol required, but the voicemail system for calling in was disabled, so I was unable to.
I sent them links and screenshots to the ACAS website, but the lady I was emailing refused to read them.
I was told that the company MUST follow the attendance policy, and I was asked rudely if I had read it.
I explained that nowhere in the attendance policy does it mention this kind of situation, just that I would need the note, and I had already supplied the note. I also asked what their reasons were to refuse these adjustments under the equality act 2010 (this is similar to the US’s ADA.
under this I am considered disabled as I have had a condition that has impacted my daily life for over 12 months), and this email was completely ignored.
I received a call from HR yesterday, and I was asked if I could definitely return to work under part-time hours and if I would not have to go home due to flare-ups.
I told them yes and explained that without the crutches I struggled to complete the week at part-time, but with them, I can do this with no problem. Full time even with the crutches flares me up to the point where I am still recovering from that full shift I did last Monday.
She accepted this and told me I could resume work on Monday at part-time hours and she would let the lady I was emailing know that this is the case now.
They wanted me to follow the attendance policy, so I did.
It just didn’t work out the way they wanted it to. I call that checkmate. I know full well they are trying to push me out, and I’m okay with that as this job is now a drain on my mental health with the way they have spoken to me and treated me.
However, being the petty witch I am I will be making it EXTREMELY difficult for them and causing as much strife for them as they have for me. All according to the law and their policies, of course.”
Another User Comments:
“Have you looked into fibromyalgia or maybe MS? I’ve heard MS can be debilitating enough to limit mobility, and the way you were talking about flare-ups sounds like my fibro flares. Although my flares don’t sound quite as bad as yours.
Usually with a couple of days of rest, a lot of sleep, and some nice relaxing gummies, I’m good to go again. In Canada, fibromyalgia is considered a disability, enough so that I actually qualify for disability and wouldn’t have to work.
I found a nice easy job sitting in a truck for 12 hours which helped immensely.
I’m sorry to hear your company is being dumb like that. I got fired a couple of years ago because I ended up really sick and was put on medical leave.
They disregarded my doctor’s note advising me to take 2 months off work and when I ended up having to miss another shift, they fired me. I didn’t have the time or energy to take them to court, but I left a wonderful google review that all of my coworkers have apparently read and they all agreed that what I said was factual and accurate.
The GM tried to force me to take it down by initially refusing to reimburse me for something they should have reimbursed me for 6 months prior. I did threaten court at that point. Made them look reeeeally bad though and there’s not a darn thing they can do about it because it’s 100% facts and 0% emotional bullcrap.
When/if you do leave there, I’d recommend doing the same, publicly shame them with absolute facts. Good luck!” Scarletwitch713
5. Never Get Around To Replacing The Water Filter? We'll Just Keep Buying Bottled Water
“So I used to be a bar manager (which is an understatement; I used to do literally everything in that place, but that’s another story), and I had a team of 6 people: waiters, cooks, and clean staff.
So I used to deal with the everyday life of the bar, and here in Brazil, it is obligatory for the company to provide drinkable, filtered water to employees. So, we had 2 water filters in the bar, one at the counter and one in the kitchen.
Water filters must be changed every 3 months to continue to filter, and ours had a little red button that would light when the change was needed.
The first time the red light turned on, I did what I assumed was the most logical thing to do: went to a nearby store and bought the filter.
I paid around 25 bucks, changed the filter, and went on with the daily routine. The end of the week comes, and I go to the office to “close” the week. Basically, I go there and give them the profit that we earned, and they pay me whatever it is I had to buy for the bar routine, I give them the filter receipt, and the guy asks me: “did you have the authorization to buy this filter?” And I said: “Well, no, we needed the filter, and I bought it.” And he responded that he needed to talk to the boss to see if that was ok.
A week goes by and my boss calls me asking for a meeting that afternoon, which was unusual since they usually scheduled in advance. I go to the meeting and listen for half an hour about how it is completely unacceptable for me to make a “big” purchase without authorization and that the company had a purchasing department that makes these kinds of purchases and that for every big purchase I make, I need to send them an email and they will take care for me.
They also said that the same filter was 16 dollars online and that I was wasting company finances, so I apologize and say it won’t happen again.
Around a month goes by and the other filter (in the kitchen) also needs filter replacement, so I do as I’ve been told, send the purchasing team an email.
A week goes by, no response.
The other Monday, I received an email asking for photos (the first email has the exact model written) of the filter, I respond promptly with photos of the filter.
1 month goes by, and no filter for the kitchen.
I tell the kitchen staff that if they need water, they can ask me, and I’ll fill a jar with fresh water from the other filter. One of the days, I go to the office and they ask me about the filter, and I tell them that it hasn’t arrived yet.
The boss was there and gets furious, calls the purchasing team, and makes them buy the filter online that instant.
Another month went by, and the filter hadn’t arrived. The other filter also needed replacement again, so I start telling the staff to get bottled water and to write every one down, so I can count stock later.
Around 30 bottles go in a week, I buy a lot of bottled water, and the team asks me if we are getting more demand for bottles of water in the bar, and I tell them no.
The filters that were purchased online arrive.
THEY. DON’T. FIT.
I tell the management team, and they ask me to leave the filters at the office because they will change with the correct ones. I do so the same day; the staff is still drinking bottled water.
3 months pass by, and the filters are still seen in the office when I finally leave that company for good.
One of my old employees (and friend) still works there, and he told me they’re still drinking bottled water, and the new manager doesn’t even know there are filters to be used.”
4. Require Him To Stop Wearing Safety Attire? He Won't Be Able To Perform His Job Duties Anymore
How is he supposed to work in a suit and tie?
“Father-in-law works for a heavy equipment manufacturer: highway-making equipment, machines for gold, gem-mining, etc. The machines aren’t really relevant to the story, only that they’re big and scary enough that everyone is VERY strict about safety.
Well, almost everyone…
This company has one “IT guy.” He does everything from web admin to the ID badges to “the printer isn’t working.” So, obviously, he needs an office with a computer. The only problem is, most of his job is keeping the ancient assembly line machines on life support, so he’s constantly on the factory floor fixing error code TI-86 on machine C-137, etc.
One day, one of the VPs of *********** deigns to leave the plush veneer of the C-level suites to enter the “plebeian” office and takes GREAT offense to the IT guy wearing jeans, boots, and a high-vis vest in their “STRICTLY suit and tie” office!
Protests about his job duties fall on deaf ears; and since the IT department of one person doesn’t have an official C-level officer, VP of *********** decides to write a new dress code for the IT department. Suit and tie at all times.
No exceptions.
IT guy shows up the next day in a suit and tie, tries to fix an error on the factory floor, and (rightfully) gets turned away at the door for lack of safety gear. He spends a few days in his office goofing off while the errors on the factory floor grow and grow.
Finally, around 3 AM one night, BIG production line X goes down. This is a HUGE contract for the company; the company might go under if this client goes elsewhere! As such, emergency procedures state ALL C-level execs, and even the owner MUST be notified immediately if this line stops at any time for any reason… so the upper echelon of the company (including VP **********) assembles in the board room to prepare for their firing spree!
Around 5 AM, IT guy is ordered to the boardroom where they really lay into him before they fire him. Threats of blacklisting him in the industry, threats of lawsuits for damages, etc. Of course, there’s the condescending “Now what do you have to say for yourself?” question.
He unfolds a few pieces of paper from his pocket and puts them on the table in front of the owner. “THIS is why I have to wear a suit and tie no matter what, THIS was my objection because I have to do my job properly, THIS is the safety officer refusing me entry for lack of safety gear, and THIS is the record that VP ********** got my e-mails but never responded.”
Not a pin drop or a cricket chirp could be heard, just the faint ruffling of pages as the owner read. Finally, he spoke. “Your so-called dress code is officially revoked. VP ********** is no longer allowed to have any authority over you.
Please put on safety gear and fix machine TK-421. The rest of us will stay here all day until I’m convinced that this problem will never happen again.”
VP ********** kept his job (he was very good at his namesake, after all), but he was transferred to VP of a division that didn’t exist and a workforce of one, only him.
Rumor has it he’s related to the owner somehow, but at least his self-righteousness can’t ruin the actual work being done!”
3. Require Paperwork To Be Filled Out By Hand? It Might Not Be Very Legible Though
Who even likes filling out paperwork by hand anyway? More work for the person doing it and more work for the company handling it.
“This malicious compliance was years in the making and totally worth it. (Now our contracts are digitized, by the way.)
In my industry of freelance workers, there’s a company whose service is handling contracts. Sounds like a productive place, but it’s not.
Being generous, they’re 75% useless and they anger every one of us. One guy walking away from the window once said: “Now I know why they’re behind bulletpr00f glass.”
Every year, they require us to fill out an I9 form (for employment eligibility in the US) even though for EVERY freelance job we take, we have to fill out a new one.
Many of us have told our new employer that the Contract Place has it on file, but that won’t do. At least one employer met that statement by asking what Contract Place is. They even have a sign that says we’d still be asked (and therefore required) to fill out a new one by an employer – if you’re still wondering how useless Contract Place is.
So I started messing with them.
One year, I decided to use a rubber stamp with my address on it to fill out the form at Contract Place. (I used this on the same form for every new job as well as all of the other paperwork that requires my annoying-to-write 20 times address.) It’s never been a problem because, well, you can read it.
While driving home, the Contract Place calls me! “Sir, this rubber stamp won’t do. You need to come back and fill it out by hand.” I say, “No problem” but just keep driving home. Problem solved for that year.
The next year I’m there for some other 25% stuff and: “Looks like it’s time for a new I9,” and I use the stamp.
She looks at it and says, “Hold on a second.” She’s gone for a minute and I know she’s asking if it’s legit. Nope. “Sir, the rubber stamp is not acceptable. This one will have to be destroyed, and you’ll have to fill out a new one.” I thought it odd that she informed me of the fate of the bad document as if I should feel sorry for it or something.
Kind of a psycho move if you ask me because you can smoke it for all I care.
I’m handed a blank one through the bulletpr00f glass slot and said: “Here’s the thing, I have nerve damage in my hand, so it won’t look very neat.” She said it was okay.
I didn’t have nerve damage, but I was testing to see what she would say. Would they take pity on my “condition” and opt for the rubber stamp one? What if the hand-written one was too messy? Let’s find out.
I say, “Okaaaaay.”
I’m left-handed so I started writing with my right hand. I figured if I was a righty trying with my left, it would be obvious that I was faking, but everyone is right-handed! Right? (sarcasm) So I legit try writing my annoying-to-write address as clearly as I can but it’s bad.
Real bad. It was utterly illegible, even to me, and I just wrote it and knew what it was supposed to say. It looks like I used my feet.
I apologize with sincerity as hand it over because I did actually think it would be clearer.
I expected her to say: “You know what, I think this stamped one is ok.” Nope. She accepted the chicken-scratched one. Looked at it and said “That’s good” or “That’s what we need” or something like that.
I got that document in there as the last one before it all went digital. For some reason, the digital ones are good forever or something because we don’t need to fill that out yearly anymore.”
2. Take Advantage Of Me At Work? I'll Give Everything I Got Until You Get Sick Of Me
“I was an IT contractor for a company doing a large new project. There were about 30 people writing code. We were allowed as much overtime as we were willing to work and I could use the pay.
I was working 12 hours, 5 days a week. On the weekends, I would go racing, usually out of state. It was common on Thursday to get called into a meeting saying we needed to work 8 hours Saturday, 4 on Sunday. Most people would have 52 hours in total. I would do it if available putting me at 72 or 76 since 4 hours is stupid.
Other times, I would point out I would already be at 60 and had plans. I was given an exception the first couple of times. Then I was told I was not being a team player. So I clarify: If I work 12 hours between 5 pm Friday and 9 am Monday, is that good?
Yes. Well OK then.
I left the office at 9 pm on Friday. 4 of the 12 down. The race trailer was already loaded up and ready to go. I headed out in the morning for a 4-hour drive. After the race, I headed back.
Since I was driving near the office and the parking lot was empty, I pulled in the trailer and all, around 3 am. I figured just badging in wasn’t enough to demonstrate compliance. I sent an email out to the group with every task I completed. I completed everything I had been assigned. There was a whiteboard with unassigned tasks.
I sent an email that I was pulling a task, then another when completed. I had my full hours in at 11 am.
I was being a smart aleck. However, I didn’t really expect the manager to get as annoyed about it as he did.
A bit later, my contract was cut by that manager for my “abrasive personality.” The fallout seems to have been against me but not in the end. My contract was cut. I was told on a Thursday morning and given the next 3 full weeks’ notice.
By Thursday afternoon, I had a job interview scheduled for Monday. By Monday afternoon, I had a couple more scheduled. I started a new position with no gap.
That is pretty much the malicious compliance. Below is the fallout from the retaliation.
The manager blamed the “abrasive personality” comment on the business. They are the people asking for and defining the project. I only worked with one. During my notice, I was working with her. I said something about someone else having to do the next phase.
She says yeah, that sucks. After giving cat butt face, I tell her that I was told the business wanted me gone. Since she was the only business I dealt with… wavy hand motion. She just got an angry look and stormed off.
Her anger went up the org tree and back down my branch. The manager was told, “I want OP on this project, deal with it.” I had multiple people (HR, manager’s peers, etc) ask me if I wanted to stay.
They would have to “make the crap hit the fan” to do so. They didn’t want to do that if I was leaving anyway. I said I already had accepted an offer. I just wished he had been the one to ask me to stay.
He was made to ask me if I could extend the notice period to provide training sessions on my techniques. Me: “So you want my productivity, just not me,” “Well, yeah,” “No, I am already scheduled to start a new position.”
During my notice, 12 people found new positions and gave their notice. The attitude was that if the company was willing to cut me, they could cut anyone at any time. They would rather leave on their terms. That was not a problem for coders at that particular point in time.
I was still working 60 hours a week during my notice period. On my last day, when leaving, the only person still there was that manager’s boss. When I said bye, he said he had meant to talk to me before I left. I sat down and talked. I said you must be wondering why I would be working late on my last day.
I wanted the section of software I was on to be working before I left, so no one could blame me for it not getting done. I said I was the only one left in the last few months who was working on it.
All tests had passed that day. Another section with similar work has 6 people working on it and is not done. He began to question the manager’s decision-making. He thanked me and said he may reach out in the future.
A couple of months later, someone reached out to me to see if I would come back.
The manager’s contract was cut as were the other 3 people from his contract house. An employee who was buddies with the manager was moved off the project. Apparently, since the manager was also a contractor, he could not technically cut my contract.
It was done by this employee. I didn’t go back as my new “abrasive personality” manager and I got along great.”
1. Short Me $70,000? Fine, But You'll Be Paying $1.8 Million Now
“A year out of school in the early 1990s, I procured a job as a business analyst for a large, family-owned tech company. This business was located in the booming heart of technology at the time and was very profitable.
As tech took off over the next decade, the company thrived and remained family-owned. What was a rich family and company became exceedingly wealthy with a valuation/net worth in the high 9/low 10-figures.
The family that owned it was quite neurotic, very moody, and had a reputation as very ruthless (greedy) when it came to financing, deal-making, employees, etc. I truly believe this is what held them back from ultimately becoming a household name as a company.
As I progressed in the company, I gained more and more face time with the owners. I worked on some projects directly with ownership that really paid off and gained me even greater access to their inner circle. Now, like a lot of people at the time and particularly those who worked in tech, I was heavily invested in tech stocks.
I discussed some of my investments and gains with ownership as casual conversation, though investing had nothing to do with my role in the company.
That is until one day in late 1999 when the owner came to me and asked me if I would invest some of his personal finances.
He wanted me to take big risks to see if they would pay off using 1 million dollars of his personal finances. I was a bit hesitant, but still being in my late 20s and wanting to prove myself, I said I would.
I asked for a written agreement where they acknowledged this wasn’t my role in the company, was a personal matter between the owner and me, and to document my compensation for this side arrangement (20% of all profits).
Around this same time and by working in the industry I started to notice the weakness associated with a lot of tech companies.
They just weren’t living up to their hype and stock price and some seemed like they were starting to run out of finances. I had no inside information, just a strong sense of which companies were struggling based on my work in the business.
Based on this since I started using both my finances and the owner’s finances to short tech companies just after the New Year in 2000. For anyone unfamiliar with shorting, it means if the value of a stock decreases, the value of the investment increases.
I had a few long positions, but my overall position was very short.
Since the owner wanted big risks and big rewards, I used his finances and obtained leverage or margin from the financial institution where I maintained both his and my trading accounts.
The accounts were separate, but both were under my name (again, I documented this and gained consent).
Well, both my account and his suffered some moderate losses in the first two months of 2000 before the bubble began to burst, and both accounts, but his, in particular, began to skyrocket.
In June, the company began to suffer a downturn. We were still profitable, but since we provided tech services and products we were not immune to weakness in the broader market. I had not informed the owner of my short strategy.
He came to me one day and asked how his finances were doing, saying he suspected it was way down like the general market. To his surprise, I informed him that while we still had some finances tied up in options (puts) and shorts, based on the positions I had closed, there was $1.35 million sitting in the account that belonged to him.
Again, I still had a bunch of open positions which, if memory serves, were worth about a million on that date, but the positions I had closed had yielded $1.35 million just sitting in his account (which was in my name).
The owner, either through ignorance or lack of attention, said “Great, $1.35 million. Fantastic work in this down market. Will you please wire it to me?” I responded that I would, but would be taking my 20% of the $350,000 profit, or $70,000, before wiring him the $280,000.
I also reminded him I still had open positions that had yet to pay off or close, but I didn’t state the amount. He, once again, appeared not to understand or comprehend the open positions statement, but instead totally focused on and became incensed about my rightful claim for $70,000.
He went on and on about how times were tough, I should be grateful for a job, particularly at my young age, and the entire $350,000 was necessary for him and the company. I knew this wasn’t true based on my position within the company.
Worse, this was my first time personally experiencing the greedy and corrupt nature that served as the basis for the ownership’s reputation.
Now comes the revenge. Since, after two separate conversations, the owner didn’t seem to grasp that the open positions would yield at least some income, and thus additional profit, I decided not to mention it again.
I sent him back the entire $1.35 million and continued to manage the open positions to the best of my ability. And here’s the kicker, the owner never brought it up again. He seemed to think the $1.35 million payment was the entire value of the account and never understood or remembered that open positions still existed. He never asked for records, tax documents, or any time of audit or financials.
Given the fact that he was dishonest with me, I didn’t feel the need to undeceive him of that notion.
Ultimately, after a bit more net gain, I covered all of the shorts and exercised all of the options (puts in this case) for an additional $1.8 million.
I worked for the company for 3 more years and the owner never asked about it during my tenure, after I gave notice, or since. I know it’s a bit crass and even shady as heck, but given his dishonesty with me over the $70,000, I felt justified in keeping the additional $1.8 million.
I paid taxes on the gain (long-term cap gain) and went on my way with a fantastic nest egg. Nobody has asked about it since and I have only told the story to a few people (and even then only after the statute of limitations passed).
The final ironic cherry on top of this sundae is that during my remaining 3 years I gained greater influence with ownership in position within the company because they considered me loyal for giving the $1.35 million back and not making too much of a stink about the $70,000 profit.
Little did they know I got the better of them. The company eventually folded due to family disputes, but my understanding is that ownership walked away in a very good financial position. They likely could have been a much better and greater company had they not practiced the same dishonesty that they showed me with their vendors, clients, and employees.”
